The Loss Of Species: Rare mangroves face risk of extinction

Nellore: Human interactions and commercial operations in the coastal areas are affecting rare mangroves and even the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red listed plants with high medicinal value due to lack of awareness about their significance.

The total mangrove wetland area in Nellore is about 1,615.88 hectares in which 50 pc of area is between Krishnapatnam and Yeruru in Chillakur mandal of now Tirupati district under Kandaleru Creek. Prakasam has mangroves in about 925.4 hectares with Etimoga occupying 592.47 hectares, about 64 pc of total area. The bulk of the mangroves in the state are found in Krishna-Godavari wetlands.

Retired principal of Jawahar Bharathi Degree College, Kavali and researcher Dr NSR Krishna Rao said shrimp ponds, seaport operations at Krishnapatnam and activities of super thermal power stations are resulting in the rare species disappearing from the region.

Kandelia Candel is a new record for the state while Sonneratia Apetala, locally called Senuga, is confined to Ponnapudi-Peddapalem in Iskapalli lagoon and these mangroves are fast vanishing. Ponnapudi is the only wetland where twelve species of mangroves are recorded.

Several fruits of mangroves such as Aegiceras corniculatum, Heritiera fomes, Kandelia candel, Sonneratia apetala, and Sueda maritima are nutritious and are used in pharmaceutical industries to produce anticancer, antidiabetic, antitumor, and other therapeutic agents, according to studies. "Mangroves are salt-tolerant species, and they depend on a delicate balance of fresh and seawater. As the salinity levels increase, some mangrove species with greater sensitivity to soil salinity die," added Dr Krishna Rao.

Sonneratia Apetala, locally called Senuga, and Kadenlia Candel that are in the IUCN red list of threatened species.

These plants are useful for prevention from soil erosion, stabilization of coasts and beaches, protection of land from tidal surges and cyclonic storms. They also provide fuel wood, green manure, charcoal, timber, for local communities for boat/canoe or catamaran making. Kandelia candel along with pepper or dried ginger and rose water is used in the treatment of diabetes.

In Nellore, mangrove plants have threats from aqua industry, port activities, discharges from thermal plants, human destruction, natural calamities, and agricultural runoff. Environmental lovers say the Forest department should focus on protecting the highly essential mangrove species on the coast for protection from calamities and for export purposes for medicinal uses that fetch foreign exchange.